OTT apps: COAI bats for 'same service, same rules' under draft telecom Bill

Industry body argues for 'same service, same rules', says current disparities give OTT players privileges but not responsibilities

Arguing that there is a need to enforce the principle of ‘same service, same rules’ in the telecom industry, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) came out in support of the government’s move to bring over-the-top (OTT) communication service providers under the ambit of the telecom Bill.

The COAI – which has all three private telecom service providers (TSPs) Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea as its members – said on Tuesday that while adoption of new technologies and services by various players in the ecosystem was welcomed, regulatory conditions and treatment must be made uniformly applicable for similarly placed players.

The COAI said OTT players consume humongous amounts of bandwidth, which puts tremendous pressure on the network infrastructure established by TSPs. It also stressed that OTT communication services need to be defined in the draft Bill to ensure there was no ambiguity.

Released by the government for public stakeholder comments last month, the draft extends the definition of telecommunication service to include OTT players such as WhatsApp, Signal, Zoom, Skype, Google, and Telegram, which provide (voice or video) calling and messaging services.

The definition was amended after TSPs had argued for years for a level-playing field, since OTT communication and satellite-based services offered audio and video calls and messaging without paying for licence or spectrum.

Regulatory disparities

“It has been erroneously suggested that telecom services and OTT applications do not operate on the same layer, when in fact services such as calls (voice/video) whether provided by the TSPs or the OTT apps, operate on the same layer, essentially riding on the network layer,” the COAI said.

The industry body added that another flawed argument advanced was that OTTs should not be brought on an equal footing with the TSPs as the latter have right to spectrum, numbering resources, interconnect with PSTN and right of way (RoW) for setting up infrastructure.

“TSPs undergo a government mandated process for allocation of right to use of spectrum and numbering resources by undertaking critical commitments in terms of deliverables defined by the license agreement and invest heavily in setting up networks. OTTs, on the other hand, are free from any of these obligations, but enjoy all the privileges of delivering the same services, without having to bear any of the regulatory obligations, security obligations, investment or network requirements,” the COAI said.

It said OTTs were not prevented from obtaining these privileges, but chose not to do so to avoid the associated obligations.

The draft Bill mandates that OTTs will be subject to similar rules as other telecom companies, as internet-based service providers. As a result, OTTs may have to take out licences to operate, and as licensed entities, potentially share revenue with the government.

“Apart from investing massive amounts in creating the network infrastructure and incurring huge operational expenses in terms of meeting various regulatory compliances, TSPs also pay exorbitant levies and taxes in terms of licence fee, SUC, GST, etc,” the COAI said.

On the other hand, OTTs enjoy huge benefits by utilising the TSPs’ networks, but are not subjected to such taxes and levies, thus causing loss to the exchequer, it said.

Level playing field

• COAI says OTTs pay no duties or levies, don't buy spectrum, and aren't subject to any regulation 
• Argues OTT communication services ride on network provided by telecom service providers, consuming huge bandwidth 
• Says new technologies are welcome but similarly placed players need similiar regulation